Need tip on pull off

It seems very easy to watch the instructors do the pull off technic. I can't seem to do that. It is easy to pull off from the high E string but when tried on other strings, my finger hits the next string below. When I tried not to hit the string below, I don't hear the pull off tone.

Thanks in advance,

Sam

I've been playing for 13 years and have the exact same problem.... I can't figure it out for the life of me. Well that isn't entirely true, I can do pull offs under "normal" circumstances, but the part I struggle on is if I have to pull off to an open string. For example ACDC's "Thunderstruck". That intro is hard to not get the high E string to sound too. I mute it with a finger on my plucking hand, but that type of pull off is what gets me.

If I am pulling off onto another note, then I simply lay the finger that I will be landing on down across the higher strings to mute them. For example:

Constant pull offs from 5-3-5-3-5-3-5-3. Since your finger is on the 3rd fret, angle it so that it mutes the higher strings (higher in pitch not direction of course). That way you can give the pull off the attack that it needs without worrying about hitting another string. If you do, it will be muted anyways.

But pulling off to an open string 5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0, there is no finger to lay down since you are using it to pull off. Before you note that you have free fingers to use to mute the strings on your fretting hand, that becomes less effective when you are trying to do that in the middle of a fast run. Or even if it is only one quick pull off of 5-0. Can't seem to mute it right.

As you pull off, try and pluck the string with the same finger

To me, a pull off is little more than a string pluck. If you can pluck the string sith your 'strumming' hand, you can do the same with the fretting hand. Doing the hammer/pull off deal is the hammer with a little downward pull until the string wants to release for the pull off.

I know, easier said than done.

However, if you worry less about striking the lower string, you'll probably be better. Reason being, you can't not touch the string below when doing a pull off. So, work with that action. I noticed that when I do a hammer/pull off deal that my finger immediately touches the string below but in a way that is muting/deadening and does not resonate the string.

If you try to not touch the string, you're going to kill yourself.

Hey all-

You want it to feel almost like you are digging underneath the string just a bit before releasing it. Even though its called a "pull off", your finger should not be rising up away from the fretboard when it releases. Rather, it should be pulling down towards the floor, with a little bit of a snap.

Thanks everyone for the tips.